Vascular Specialists From the International Community Will Meet to Discuss Advances in Vascular Disease.
International specialists in vascular disease, including vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, and other specialists, are expected to be on hand for the 39th Annual VEITHsymposium, which will be held November 14 – 18 at the Hilton New York. The five-day event will feature more than 750 rapid-fire presentations from world-renowned vascular specialists with emphasis on the latest advances, changing concepts in diagnosis and management, pressing controversies, and new techniques.
The extended length and unique format of the VEITHsymposium enables the program to span the breadth of diseases, conditions, diagnostic procedures, and medical interventions that comprise the landscape for vascular medicine. That includes treatment and management of patients with diseases of the arteries and veins, such as carotid artery stenosis, aortic and other aneurysms, occluded and injured vessels, thromboembolism, stroke, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and venous disease including varicose veins. In addition their will components of the meeting devoted to wound care, vascular access and medical treatment of vascular problems. Also included will be a discussion of diseases with treatments approachable via the vascular system such as multiple sclerosis and cancer.
Although the many updates on current clinical trials, presentations on improvements in surgical and endovascular techniques, and debates on the efficacy of competing devices and therapies for vascular disease hold special interest for the community of vascular specialists, several sessions of the VEITHsymposium program will delve into topics of mounting concern among the general public.
With the population aging, stroke is another disease commanding public attention. A major clinical study, the SAMMPRIS Trial (Stenting and Aggressive Medical Management for Preventing Recurrent Stroke in Intracranial Stenosis) seemed to demonstrate clearly that intracranial stents should not be used in patients who had recently experienced stroke, but some vascular specialists are calling for new trials with different kinds of stents.
Regarding stroke prevention, the role of carotid atherosclerosis as a risk for stroke is not in question, but the debate still rages on about when, if and how to treat it: For asymptomatic patients – those who have carotid stenosis but no prior history of a stroke or stroke-like ischemic event, discussions will center around medical management vs. intervention. Debates on which intervention is called for and safer will also analyze recent trials, their details and cost-effectiveness.
Another important topic to be covered is massive and submassive pulmonary embolism (PE) and its underlying cause, deep vein thrombosis (DVT). PE is emerging as a growing and increasingly recognized threat in our aging and often sedentary population. While anticoagulation with heparin and other blood thinning drugs is the current standard of care for most PEs and DVTs, VEITHsymposium attendees will be presented with the latest results and techniques for a number of innovative endovascular technologies for removing clot using drugs and mechanical devices as ways to improve PE and DVT treatment.
Finally, discussion will center on the pros and cons relating to the continuing controversy over the use of angioplasty and stents to increase blood flow through the veins draining the central nervous system as a possible treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). At the 37th VEITHsymposium in 2010, Italian vascular specialist, Paolo Zamboni – who led the team that identified a condition they labeled chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCVSI) as an important element in the development of MS – discussed his research that showed significant improvement in MS patients who underwent endovascular procedures to repair narrowing of veins draining the central nervous system. These findings set off a flurry of excitement and optimism in the medical and MS communities, but have also engendered a fair amount of criticism and skepticism. Now, two years later, Dr. Zamboni returns to update those findings, appearing alongside other vascular specialists who report success with endovascular treatment for MS patients and opponents who fault both the premise and the methodology of this approach.
Frank J. Veith, M.D., founder and chairman of the VEITHsymposium, professor of surgery at New York University and The Cleveland Clinic and the surgeon who lead the team that performed the first US endovascular aneurysm repair, expressed his excitement about the November meeting, “With a nod to both consensus and controversy, we have scheduled presentations from clinicians, surgeons, interventionists, and researchers on every topic of importance to those interested in the management of patients with vascular disease. They will be offering guidance on the latest improvements in surgical and vascular techniques and sharing their experiences with new technologies and devices, exploring the comparative benefits of both pharmacological treatment and endovascular interventions for a host of vascular diseases, reporting and critiquing the ongoing clinical research and trials that may help shape how we should practice now and in the future. As has always been the case throughout the many years of the VEITHsymposium, those in attendance can count on vigorous give and take and lively debate, and a wealth of information that will contribute to their understanding of vascular diseases and their treatments. Veith concluded, “Immediately after this year’s meeting, the entire program – with all the talks, slides and panels – will be memorialized and available to attendees and others in the meeting’s web-based library. This will be an invaluable resource for information and study for the entire vascular community.
Source: VEITHsymposium.
